Southpoint är beläget i de södra delarna av Stockholm och delar tunnelbanestation (Skanstull) med Eriksdalsbadet, köpcentrat Ringen och tunga (?) Skanstullsbron. Man kommer i helgen att ha nypremiär efter att ha genomgått en – vad det verkar – rejäl renovering.

Många ställer sig nog frågande till varför just Southpoint valdes istället för de traditionella turneringscaféerna Ownage och Inferno-Online. En av de huvudansvariga för WEG:s Europasektion, Malte Wagener, kommenterade valet så här:

"SouthPoint offered the best environment to hold a qualifier in times where gaming is more and more becoming a life-style. SouthPoint has a very unique concept, combining a professional gaming experience with the compfort and atmosphere of a living room."

Kvalet bjuder på fyra åtråvärda platser till WEG som innebär betald mat och logi i Korea under de två månader som den tredje säsongen kommer att pågå. Vilka lag som ska delta kommer att offentliggöras på söndag och det är endast inbjudna lag som kommer att ges chansen. Med andra ord bör vi ha en intressant turnering från början till slut den 24-25 september.

Värt att nämna är även att VBCast kommer att finnas på plats för att sända från evenemanget. Det står i pressmeddelandet att läsa att man hoppas kunna bygga på samarbetet med VBCast, som enligt samma pressmeddelande har kapacitet för fler än hundra tusen samtidiga tittare. Förhoppningsvis kan detta så småningom leda fram till livesändningar från den tredje säsongen av WEG, något som ju varit mycket saknat tidigare WEG-säsonger.

WEG:s pressmeddelande ser ut så här:

WEG Announces European Season 3 Qualifier Details

- First WEG Qualifier for Europe in Stockholm, Sweden
- Global live stream coverage through reknown VBCast with top commentators
- WEG qualifier at the newly renovated South Point Gaming Café
- Qualifier will boast 4 spots for Counter-Strike and 3 spots for WarCraft 3

The World e-Sports Games, Inc. is pleased to announce details on the upcoming European qualifier to grab the final remaining births to the finals in Seoul, Korea for WEG2005 Season 3. The qualifier will take place in Stockholm, Sweden at the SouthPoint Gaming Café, which is located in the city center of Stockholm.

On September 24th and 25th, Stockholm will be host to some of the best players from around Europe in both Counter Strike 1.6 and WarCraft3. The CS tournament will feature a total of 4 qualifying spots for the finals, which will be held in Seoul, Korea and start on the 22nd of October, after the opening ceremony on the 19th of October. As for the WarCraft 3 tournament, it will boast a total of 3 spots for players from all over Europe to qualify for the most intense, professional and record setting league in the world.

All qualified player will have the chance to compete for the total prize money of $140,000 at the season final in Korea and grand final in China. For the qualified teams, the WEG will cover expenses including: airfare, lodging and food for the duration of Season 3 for WEG2005 Season 3.

The WEG is particularly delighted to announce the collaboration with the biggest online Gaming-TV broadcaster in the world, VBCast. VBCast has made a name for themselves through excellent coverage of e-Sport events around the world and exceeded expectations in every way possible. Now WEG and VBCast partner up to present a new concept of event coverage that will break new ground in terms of scale and availability of a world wide streaming network with capacities of way over 100,000 concurrent viewers. VBCast and the WEG will continue to build on this first partnership and constantly improve the coverage and broadcast from the events.

Johan Ryman, founder of VBCast, said on the newly found partnership “VBC is happy to get the opportunity to bring you exclusive coverage of all the action from the WEG European Qualifier, we are expecting great action when the top European teams battle it out in Stockholm. We are also
glad to get the chance to work with the WEG which are setting new professional standards and formats into the competitive world of E-Sports.“ Malte Wagener, Managing Director EMEA of WEG Inc. added “Together with VBCast, we’ll be able to cover a world wide audience of eSport fans and enthusiasts that have been looking forward to be able to follow WEG matches live since our first season. We’re very happy to be able to finally provide the coverage that the spectators deserve.”

The Qualifier will start at 10:00 CET on Saturday the 24th of September 2005 at the SouthPoint Internet Café in Stockholm. SouthPoint is one of the premiere gaming centers in Sweden and was newly renovated earlier this year. Malte Wagener, Managing Director EMEA of the WEG commented on the cooperation: “We’re very excited to have found such an enthusiastic partner for our event and thrilled to present a location that was built by gamers for gamers. We’re sure that all players will appreciate the effort the crew at the café have put into the setup”.